Julie has a secret evil twin with the same name. That’s the only possible explanation for why her favorite store, J. Crew, has decided to split her reward points between two different accounts, neither of which receives enough points to get actual rewards. She wrote to Consumerist not only to complain, but to find out whether there are other customers experiencing the same problem.

Toys ‘R’ Us should want to reward Dustin handsomely. He has five kids, and his family buys an awful lot of toys there. It’s not the store itself but its rewards program that’s giving him problems. He used rewards certificates and $34.88 in cash to buy a toy, but when he went to return that toy, he learned that the rewards program is less straightforward than it seems when you need to return something.

Everyone who signs up for airlines’ frequent flyer programs dreams of cashing in their miles for amazing vacations. Credit card companies are counting on you being so enamored with that vision that you’ll relax your spending discipline in pursuit of the goal.

Most debit rewards programs are gone or largely neutered, a retaliation by the banking industry in response to pending caps on transaction swipe fees. Now merchants are coming to fill the void. Stores are partnering with banks to experiment with “merchant debit rewards” which give shoppers discounts for shopping at their establishments. Here’s how it will work.

Summer and her fiancee returned from an out of town trip this weekend to find that the Stupid Shipping Gang had paid them a visit while they were away. But instead of a tiny thing packed in a giant box, it’s several tiny things packed into an excessive number of envelopes.

Last week, we wrote about JPMorgan Chase’s decision to get rid of rewards programs for debit card users in response to a new law that will slash the amount of money banks receive per debit card transaction. Now comes news that at least two other banks — Wells Fargo and SunTrust — have followed suit.

Whenever a monolithic company concocts a rewards program, the inclination is to view it with a skeptical eye, as a Trojan Horse that will surely lead to exploitation. But at first glance, it’s tough to find fault with Microsoft’s seemingly benevolent Xbox Live Rewards program.

Due to the nature of Craig’s work, he spends about half of his nights sleeping in hotels. If you’re a hotel chain, he’s the kind of customer you would want to work hard to keep. However, Hilton doesn’t think so: since his work didn’t bring him near any Hilton properties in the last year, they canceled his rewards account and purged all 323,000 of his HHonors points.

Lifehacker has some good reminder tips about how to get the most mileage out of your frequent flyer miles. Just like how you book a regular ticket, being flexible about your airports, adding connections, and flying on slow travel days can help you stretch their miles to their max. What frequent flyer mile strategies do you use? Sound off in the comments.

Last week, we learned that at least one Gamestop employee won’t even sell to you unless you sign up for a rewards card. Why might that be? Reader Dragonfire81 has mysterious inside knowledge, and warns all good Consumerists to stay far, far away from the new rewards program that Gamestop is pushing.

Did you know that GameStop is a membership-only establishment, like a warehouse club? You’re only allowed to shop there if you have their rewards card. I didn’t know that, and neither did Jeff. He tells Consumerist that he foolishly tried to purchase a game, but refused to join the rewards program or give the cashier his phone number. The cashier, in turn, refused to sell anything to him.

I noticed something interesting recently when signing up for a RewardZone account at Best Buy. Either it was a glitch or this is an ongoing issue, but I couldn’t tie together my RewardZone number and my account to purchase things on the site.

Although conventional wisdom and, hell, a Harvard study on the credit card reform to be brought about in the CARD act says the changes will help out Joe MasterCard, the prognosis for credit card victims — er, customers — isn’t all rosy.